Cementer



3mm/wolf1 March 3, 1942. w. J. 'r'RAvE-Rs. JR

- CEMENTEE Filed Sept. 23, 1940 A Patented Mar. 3, l11942 UNITED -ST'EES.PATENT FFICE 'CEMENTEE William J. Travers, Er., Bakersfield, Calif.Application september 23, 1940, serial No. 357,91i

(cl. lss-12) 1 Claim.

This invention relates generally to oil well tools and more particularlyto tools used for performing cementing operations in wells.

In the drilling and completing of oil wells it is practically alwaysnecessary to perform oementing operations at various points in the well.In certainof these operations cement slurry is forced through holes inthe well casing, .the holes being provided by perforating the casingwhen it -is in place in the well or being originally provided in thecasing as in the case of what are known as combination productionstrings of casing. With ordinary conventional apparatus the cementingprocess takes considerable time and leaves obstructionsor plugs in thewell which must subsequently be removed by drilling out. l It is aprimary object of this invention to provide a simple, relativelyinexpensive tool` for quickly performingone or a multiplicity ofcementing operations in a well without leaving any obstructions ofanykind in the well. In this connection it is an object to provide atool which is entirely removable from the well andwhich can be ushedclean of cement while in the well and which may be further used influshing the well itself clean of cement. v It is a particular object ofthis invention to provide a tool embodying casing engaging packingmembers and means forming a by-pass passage to opposite sides of thecasing engaging packing members to allow the tool to be easily loweredor raised in a well and to further provide means associated with theby-pass passage whereby the same may be closed-against upward ow offluid therethrough -when desired.

It" is also an-object of this invention to provide means for holding aby-pass closure element in inoperative position and a release meansassociated therewith to render ineffectivev thev holding means.

These and other objects will be apparent from the drawing and thefollowing description. Referring tothe drawing which is for illustrativepurposes only; Y

Fig. 1 is a' sectional elevation of a well casing and a .tool thereinvembodying a form of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional plan view on line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a vfragmentary sectional elevation of the lower end portion ofthe tool of Fig .l showing the parts in position to prevent flow of uidupwardly through the by-pass passage.

MoreV particularly describing' the invention,

reference numeral Il generally indicates a well casing which is shown asprovided with perforations l2 through which it is desired to forcecement. Numeral Il generally indicates-a cementing tool embodying theinvention which may be suspended in a well by means of a string of pipeI5 fragmentarily indicated on the drawing and attached to the upper endof the`tool I5 by means of an ordinary lcoupling I6. The t'ool Idcomprises an elongate tubular member I 8 which is threaded at its upperend to accom- Y modate the coupling l6.as shown and which is perforatedin any suitable manner asby the holes I9 in a region intermediate itsends. A pair of packers, or Vcasing engaging packing members are xedlymounted on opposite sides of the openings I9. These packers, eachindicated by numeral 20, may be of ordinary form andconstruction and arearranged facing each theror opposed in order that they may serve toprevent escape of fluid under pressure inthe annular space'ZI betweenthem when the tool` is inside a well casing.

In order to provide a means of by-passing fluid to opposite sides of thepair of packers, so that the tool may be readily lowered or raised in awell casing having fluid therein, the tool is provided with a by-passtube 22 mounted in the tubular member I8 and having its upper terminusdisposed in an aperture 23 above the uppermost packer 20. At its lowerend the tube 22 terminates in a closure or plug 24 mounted in the lowerend of the member I8.

Mounted on the lower en d of tubular member I8 by means of threads 26 iswhat will be termed a float guide shoe member 2l. This guide membercontains a barrier or annular restriction member -28 provided with apassage 29 which terminates at itsv lower end in a valve seat 30. Belowthe element 28.the shoe is provided vwith openings 3|. With thisconstruction it is apparent that a by-pass passage, generally indicatedby numeral 32, is provided through the major portion of the tool toopposite sides of the pair of packers b'y the aforementioned tube orconduit 22 and the shoe 21 with its passage 29 and openings 3|.

In order to perform certain types of cementing operations in the well itis desirable to be able to plug oi or pack oi that portion of the wellbelow thetool to prevent any possibility of circulationof iiuid upwardlypast or through the is provided a relatively light weight or oatabletool in order that there will be no .possibility of migration of cementforced'behind the casing Il down to a vpoint below the tool and backinto the well. In order to accomplish this, there shearable means suchas the wire 31. `The rod 36 is slidably received in' a bushing 36 and isprovided at its inner end with a head 38 to facilitate the wiring `ofthe ball valve to it. In this connection the openings 3l are made muchlarger than would be necessary to accommodate theuid flow in order thatthe valve and release rod may easily be wired together.

The rod 36 -is provided intermediate its ends with an abutment flange 39to limit upward movement of the member. Wickers or springs 40 aremounted on the lower end of the rod by means of a nut 4|. With thisconstruction the tool may be lowered to a desired point in the well andsubsequently raised until the wickers by engagement with a joint in thewell casing or some other irregularity such as a perforation, or untilby reason of frictional engagement with the casing walls only, serve topull the rod 36 downwardly with relation to the remainder of the tooland thereby sever or break the wire 31, releasing the valve 34.

The parts have been shown in the released position in Fig. 3, thefloatable valve member having moved upwardly to seat against the valveseat 30 and serve to prevent flow of fluid upwardly through by-passpassage 32.

Although only one means has been shown of closing the by-pass passageagainst upward flow of fluid therethrough, it is within the scope of theinvention to provide other means of accomplishing this, as by theprovision of ordinary types of valves, and of providing other means forreleasably holding the passage closure means in an inoperative positionuntil such time as it is desired that the closure means should becomeeffective. It is also contemplated that the closure means could belocated at other points in the passage.

I In the operation of the tool for performing a cementing operation at,some point intermediate the top and bottom of the well, as for examplethe forcing of cement through the perforations I2 shown in the casing II, the tool is rst lowered into the well on the end of a string of pipesuch as I5. The perforations I2 may be located in a vgeneral way byreason of the fact that their v a region of perforated casing for thereason that circulation can be established down through the tool and outthrough openings I9 and any perforations in the casing which are locatedbetween the packers. If the tool is in blank pipe culation cannot beestablished.

After theplace to be cemented has been located By using the pumppresitself.

this cirthe tool is lowered to a point below and then l raised to permitthe wickers to engage an irregularity n the casing such as a joint orcoupling or-to operate by friction with the casing walls. Furtherraising of the .tool .will cause breakage of the wire31 as the releaserod 36 is pulled downwardly relative to the rest of the tool.

This releases the valve. 36v and permits it to float up to engage thevalve seat 30 and close off the The cementing operation may then bepei*- formed by forcing cement slurry under pressure down the pipe I5and then through the tool I4 where it will emerge through the openings I9 between the packers and escape through the perforations in the casingto the desired region behind the casing. The packers 20 serve to providea blocked off annular area 2I and prevent migration of the cement slurryin the casingl beyond eitherV packer. The fioatable valve 34 by closingoif the by-pass passage 32 against upward owof uid closes or blocks olfthe portion of the well below the tool and thereby serves to prevent themigration of fluid and possibly cement downwardly on the outside of thecasing and into the well at a point below the tool and then upwardthrough the by-pass.

After sufcient cement has been placed behind the well casing the toolmay be raised into a region of blank or unperforated casing and flushedclean by reversing the circulation, that is, by forcing fluid downwardlybetween pipe I5 and the casing. This fluid will pass the packer 20 byreason of the fact that this packer is turned downwardly, and enter thetool through the openings I9 cleaning out any cement slurry in theregion between the packers and in the tool The toolA of course may beused to perform another cementing operation higher in the well withoutnecessitating the Withdrawal of the tool from the well. When the toolVis raised, .fluid is free to by-pass the packers lthrough passage 32,the -valve 34 being ineffective to prevent such passage.

Although the invention has been particularly shown and described, it iscontemplated that various changes may be made without departing from`the scope of the invention and it is intended to cover such changes as.come within the scope .of the claim. L

Ivclaim as my invention:

In a cementing tool, a tubular member adapted to be lowered into a wellon the end of a string of pipe; closure means for the lower end of saidtubular member; a pair of o spaced packers mounted on said tubularmember and adaptedto engage a well casing; said tubular member having anopening in its wall between said packers; means providing a by-passfluid passage through said tubular member to opposite sides of the pairof packers said passage being isolated Nfromcommunication with suchinterior portion of the tubular member as is in communication with saidopening in the wall of said tubular member between said packers; meansproviding a valve seat in said by-pass passage; a iloatable valve memberbelow said seat and adapted for engagement therewith to prevent flow offluid upwardly through said passage; a valve cage limiting movement ofsaid valve member; a release rod movably mounted in said tubular memberand having a portion extending to the exterior thereof; severable meanssecuring said valve member to. said rod; and a flexible casing engagingmember on said rod adapted to engage the well casing to move said rodrelative to said tubularA member upon upward movement of said tubularmember to break said `severable means and release said valve member. v

WILLIAM J. TRAVRS, Jn.

